


Patton's First Encounter with Little Virgil

by DannyisDone



Series: First Encounters (Sanders Sides Agere) [8]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Age Play Caregiver Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Age Play Caregiver Morality | Patton Sanders, Age Play Little Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Age Play Little Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Age Play Little Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Age Play Little Deceit | Janus Sanders, Age Play Little Logic | Logan Sanders, Age Play Little Morality | Patton Sanders, Age Regression, Age Regression/De-Aging, Angst, Familial Fluff, Fighting, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, Non-Sexual Age Play, Swearing, Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Sympathetic Dark Sides (Sanders Sides), Sympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders, if more is needed please let me know!, just at the beginning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:47:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28965582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DannyisDone/pseuds/DannyisDone
Summary: This story contains Age Regression and is NOT sexual!Virgil has spent his whole life feeling left out, by both the Darks Sides and the Light Sides. But he finally feels useful and a part of the famILY when he's taking care of them. But he's been hiding a part of himself from them out of fear. Would they still want him around if they knew he regressed too?+++This story is the antithesis and continuation of the story in 'Virgil's First Encounter with Little Logan' You should read that story before this one! https://archiveofourown.org/works/27641851/chapters/67633120Warnings: Swearing, crying, Virgil leaving the dark sides (And he doesn't think too kindly about them, though they are still sympathetic), Virgil doesn't think kindly about his regression so please be careful when reading that, a verbal fight between the sides (but it is mostly alluded to), a small confrontation between Virgil and Janus, let me know if there are any I missed!
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil & Creativity | Roman & Logic | Logan & Morality | Patton, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders
Series: First Encounters (Sanders Sides Agere) [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2017849
Comments: 6
Kudos: 76





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> boy I hope I used the word antithesis correctly--
> 
> I basically wanted to write this story since I wrote the original! I had vaguely alluded to Virgil feeling left out in the other story, and always had the intentions of him being a regressor as well, though I obviously didn't write that in because I wanted to write this!! I hope that people like it! There are a lot of parallels between this story and the other one, so I really do recommend reading them both, and see if you can spot anything tying the two together (There is some direct paragraphs used in the other story in this one as well!!) 
> 
> The next chapter will be the continuation of the second chapter in the other story, so look forward to that as well!
> 
> Thanks for reading and have a great day!

May, 1994

A storm wailed outside of the mindscape, mirroring the weather of the outside world. Thomas had woken up with a start when a loud crack of thunder tore through his room.

In the Subconscious, Anxiety came barreling down the hallway, tears streaking down his face, ruining the makeup under his eyes. He darted towards Deciet’s room, barely avoiding the traps that Creativity had set up earlier in the day ‘To Catch Bad Guys’. When Anxiety was finally in front of Deceit’s door, he knocked without caution, needing to make sure that he was okay, that the storm hadn’t somehow swept away his room, or worse, that he hadn’t decided to go out in it or anything. The longer the boy waited, the more worried he grew, and the harder his tears fell. 

“Dee!” Anxiety cried out. Then, without warning, the door opened up. Deceit stood there, looking worse for wear, his own eyes wet with worry. Anxiety let out a shaky breath upon seeing his friend, relieved that none of his worst thoughts seemed to have fallen upon his fellow side. He wiped his face, smearing the eyeshadow he was cursed with. One friend was safe, now to check on the other one. 

“Come on, we gotta check on Creativity.” Anxiety said, carefully taking Deceit’s hand. The yellow side nodded, having done this before. He rubbed his eyes, willing his tears away as he held onto the other’s hand. Anxiety pulled Deceit along at a much quicker pace than the deceitful side had been expecting. He barely managed to keep up, tripping over his own feet, until an exceptionally loud boom filled the hallway, making both of the boys scream in fright. Anxiety was about to take off running at this point, but was stopped when Deceit suddenly jerked away. When the anxious side looked back to see why, he saw the other holding his ears, a few tears slipping down his cheeks. 

“Loud,” He said, his ears quite sensitive to loud noises. Anxiety nodded in understanding and sympathy. He spared a look behind him, just to make sure Creativity's door was still there and hadn’t somehow disappeared, before looking back at Deceit. 

“It’s okay. Creativity can help with that. But we gotta make sure he’s okay.” Anxiety said, before starting his walk back towards said sides room. Not wanting to stand alone, Deceit quickly followed after him, though he still kept his hands over his ears. 

When Anxiety made it to Creativity’s room, he knocked hard on the wood. Once more, the longer he was forced to wait, the more and more anxious he began to grow. He wasn’t scared of the storm, he was more so scared of his friends being hurt. Deceit seemed to match that anxiety as they stood waiting. Creativity pounded hard on the door once more. 

“Creativity! Are you okay?” He asked, his tears picking up again. What if he wasn’t in there? What if he had decided to play in the storm and got electrocuted? Or he slipped in mud and fell? Or--

The door suddenly opened, a very cranky Creativity rubbing his eyes, apparently unaffected by the storm. 

“Why are you fart butts awake and botherin’ me?” Creativity asked. When he finally got a good look at the state of his friends though, his snark melted away. They were both crying, Deceit looked like he was trying to squish his brain, and Anxiety’s face was more makeup than skin. That’s when he finally noticed the pounding rain on the roof, and the low rumble of thunder that threatened to be lightening at any second. 

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.” Anxiety admitted, his cheeks growing warm, embarrassed that he had been so scared. Deceit was either ignoring the question or hadn’t actually heard it. Creativity offered a toothy grin, some of his teeth missing. 

“I’m okay! And I ain’t scared of no storm.” He said, which was mostly true. He would be fine as long as--

Suddenly, the light that had been coming from his night light flickered, before going out, sending the three of them into darkness. Creativity screeched, wildly reaching out to grab onto someone. He eventually managed to grab onto Deceit’s pajama shirt, holding it tightly. 

“Are you okay?” Anxiety asked, feeling around for his friends. He found Deceit easily and held his shirt, then managed to grab onto Creativity’s arm. They all stood there huddled for a second, all in various states of fear, before Deceit finally spoke up. 

“C-Can’t you make a light, Creativity?” The boy asked. Creativity gasped, before there was suddenly a burst of light coming from the creative side’s eyes, making the other two blink in confusion, before bursting into giggles. “I forgot I can do whatever I want.” Creativity said. He had discovered this power a few weeks ago, and had had a ball making strange and scary things. He’d even taught someone in the Imagination how to do it! Though, Anxiety and Deceit had yet to learn how. 

“Can you make Dee something for his ears?” Anxiety asked, pulling on Creativity’s nightshirt to indicate he was talking to him. Creativity tapped his chin in thought. He considered being a rebel and making something that would create a loud noise instead, but he thought better of it. Deceit was sensitive to loud noises, and Anxiety would probably yell at him. So, he created a pair of headphones, holding them up for Deceit to see. 

“These’ll block out all the loud noises ‘til the storm stops.” He explained, unaware that Deceit wouldn’t have heard it, but he seemed to understand what they were for. He carefully pulled his hands away from his ears, before taking the headphones. He inspected them quickly, just a bit nervous that they might be something weird or would suddenly start wailing, but he trusted his friend. Mostly. He put them on, and was relieved when he was met with the silence once more. 

“I’m not thankful.” Deceit said, the tension leaving his small body as he was finally able to relax. Creativity smirked at the praise from his friend, before turning his attention towards Anxiety, who had to look away and squint so that the radiating beams from Creativity’s eyes didn’t overwhelm him. 

“You guys wanna sleep in my room? We can have a sleepover and I can make lotsa pillows and I’ll tell the crocodile under my bed to leave us ‘lone!” The more Creativity spoke, the more excited his excitement grew at the prospect of having them stay the night. Anxiety thought about the offer for a moment. If they all slept in Creativity’s room, it would be a lot easier to make sure nothing happened to his friends. He would have to make sure Deceit was down as well though. Anxiety tapped his shoulder, causing the boy to look over and lift one of the headphones up. 

“Wanna do a sleepover?” Anxiety asked, gesturing towards Creativity’s room. Said side was beaming, waiting for the other’s response. Deceit gave a hesitant nod. He certainly didn’t hate the idea of being alone, so staying near his friends for the night wouldn’t be that bad. Creativity cackled, before grabbing each of his friend’s hands, before pulling them into his room, earning him a scowl from Deceit and a whine from Anxiety as they were pulled over towards his bed. 

“Creativity, don’t pull!” Deceit said, a bit louder than was necessary. Creativity ignored the light scolding in favor of snapping his fingers. The low rumbling thunder was suddenly quieted. Anxiety cocked his eyebrow in confusion. 

“Made the whole room soundproof so Dee doesn’t gotta sleep with those on.” He explained, not meeting anyone’s eyes as he climbed back into the bed. Sincerity wasn’t his strong point. Anxiety nodded, surprised by the other’s forethought, before he lightly tapped on Deceit’s shoulder to get his attention once more. He then explained what their friend had done, prompting Deceit to take the headphones off completely. 

“Thanks.” Deceit said quietly, before climbing into the bed, quickly followed by Creativity and Anxiety. They all sat on it, none of them feeling especially tired at the moment. Creativity tapped his chin in thought, before speaking up. 

“Sooooo you scaredy cats were scared of a dumb storm?” He laughed out, which was quickly followed by two loud ‘No!’s that made Creativity cackle in delight. Deceit’s face grew red with embarrassment, which did nothing to help his denial, but Anxiety was a bit more insistent, and even had a rebuttal. 

“I love storms.” He said with conviction, before rubbing his arm a bit. “I just get worried ‘bout you guys, s’all…” He explained. He would always be worried about them, that was kind of his one job. Creativity smiled and reached over, hugging Anxiety tightly. 

“Awww, you loooooove us!!” He teased, making Deceit giggle, before he joined in on the group hug, much to Anxiety’s annoyance. 

“Nu uh! I hate your smelly butt.” He argued back, but he didn’t pull away, and he knew that Deceit could taste lies, so it was pointless to try and get away with it. Creativity snickered and pulled away, before deciding to lay back on the bed. He wouldn’t admit it, but he wanted to go back to sleep. 

“Well, if you want, any time there’s a storm, you two can come in here or something. Just so you crybabies don’t piss the beds or something.” He said, earning a scoff from Deceit and a swift kick from Anxiety. Neither of which seemed to faze him. 

“Don’t swear.” Deceit scolded, but decided to law down next to the other side, a yawn slipping out. He was ready to go back to sleep, now that the thunder and lightning had been taken care of. He supposed he didn’t mind coming to stay the night with Anxiety and Creativity whenever there was a storm. 

“I’d like that.” Anxiety said, the last to crawl into bed next to Deceit. “But just to make sure you two idiots don’t somehow hurt yourselves. Storms are dangerous.” He explained, noting to himself all the ways that someone could get hurt in a storm. And they weren’t completely safe, of course. But he preferred that his friends were nearby so he could help if they needed him. 

“I won’t come either.” Deceit added. Creativity nodded, before rolling onto his side, not facing the others as he spoke. 

“I’d like you turds here too.” He said, before deciding that was all the niceness he could handle for the night. He would have to tease them extra hard tomorrow to make up for all this lovey dovey stuff. He felt Deceit tentatively scooting closer to him, before settling down as well. Anxiety did the same. 

As the quiet blanketed the three boys, a faint melody seemed to drift into the room, breaking past all the soundproofing Remus had done, as if it was powered by magic itself. They all shared confused looks amongst each other, but no one was willing to get up and investigate. Plus, the lullaby was soothing and gentle, and its melody seemed to promise a safe night for them. So, they let themselves be lulled by the mysterious music, each one drifting off to sleep. 

+++

January, 2010 

“Uuuhg, this is so NOT frustrating.” Janus yelled, pacing back and forth in the living room, his audience of friends watching in bemusement. The past couple of weeks all of their influences over Thomas had gotten a lot stronger, almost more so than they ever could have anticipated. Virgil’s protection over Thomas had kept him from trying out for his college’s musical, considering the dude was already overburdening himself with classes to the point of burnout. Janus had managed to get Thomas to lie about his homework having gone missing, and begging the teacher for an extended deadline. If he hadn’t done so, he probably would have failed. (Though Thomas still wasn’t finding the motivation to actually do the actual assignments he had gotten these extended deadlines on, weren’t those conscious sides good for anything?). 

“Relax Double D, he’s finally listening to us! That’s what we wanted anyways!” Remus said, twirling his new mustache that made him look like a cartoon villain. Janus stopped in his tracks, sighing heavily and pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Right, but now he’s just laying in bed all the time. I wanted him to take care of himself, but not at the expense of his education.” The snake side explained. Virgil shrugged. 

“I’ll eventually get around to giving him a dose of fear and get those assignments done, don’t worry.” Virgil said, hoping it would ease the other’s mind. Besides, Janus hadn’t taken one moment to try and enjoy this new surge of power that all of them had been feeling as of late. Remus had even developed a secondary purpose, that being Intrusive Thoughts. Granted Virgil wasn’t as excited about that aspect, and he wasn’t exactly thrilled that Janus had been getting Thomas to lie to his friends and stuff...But that was all small things, and it was really their first time getting a chance to get Thomas to do anything, so he didn’t really blame them too much. 

Janus seemed to mull over Virgil’s statement, before he let out a sigh, relaxing his shoulders. He supposed that as long as Virgil kept to his word, then things would work out fine. As long as they worked together, they could probably get Thomas to do whatever they wanted. 

A comfortable silence fell over the three after that. Janus decided to stop pacing and moved to sit on the couch next to Virgil. Remus took the opportunity of everyone sitting in the living room to start an impromptu movie night, which no one complained about as he looked through their movies. 

“Are we gonna do that baby brain thing that we do tonight?” Remus asked, as without a hint of shame or subtly. The other two did not share that quality with the man, and felt their faces grow warm as they shared awkward glances. Remus, waiting for an answer, looked back at them. 

“Well are we? Because I wanna know how gorey the film can be. Though zero gore is off the table, if you cry you cry.” He teased, and was rewarded with a discarded pillow being thrown at him by Virgil. He made no effort to dodge it as it hit his face. 

“We haven’t done it in a while.” Janus mused, picking at a scale on his cheek, avoiding anyone’s eyes. They didn’t have a good explanation for why they did it, or why they longed for the comforts of childhood when frankly, their childhood was pretty barren of many comforts. It wasn’t until they learned how to use magic, and the occasional rifling through the Conscious Sides’s belongings while they weren’t around, that they finally began to have things that younger versions of themselves would have loved. And now they were adults...and they found themselves craving things like stuffed animals and pacifiers, as well as a headspace that allowed them to step away from their dreary work. And though it was a secret love shared amongst the three...It didn’t mean they weren’t still incredibly embarrassed by it. 

“Well if you guys aren’t gonna do it I am.” Remus said as he pulled out a dvd, holding it for them to see. “Can we watch this one?” He asked, shaking the box so much that they couldn’t get a good grasp on what it was anyways. 

“Yeah, sure. To both.” Virgil spoke up, rising from the couch and stretching. “If we’re gonna...do the kid thing, I want to be comfy.” He said, and Janus nodded in agreement, though still a bit too shy to verbalize his inclusion. 

Everyone went into their own rooms and got what they wanted. Virgil strode into the room wearing a simple dog onesie, which he would never be caught dead in around anyone else. He also had a stuffed spider that Remus had lovingly made for him, and Virgil cherished. As Virgil made his way to the couch, he could hear Janus in the kitchen, making snacks for the three of them. Janus was wearing his yellow fuzzy pajama set and had his own stuffie that Remus had also lovingly made, a snake with two heads. Remus was already putting the movie in, having snapped himself into boxers and a loose t-shirt. Once the movie was starting, he moved to sit next to Virgil. He summoned his own stuffed Octopus and a pacifier. 

“I don’t have any snacks.” Janus declared as he walked into the room, carrying a tray of an array of different snack foods, as well as three sippy cups. He handed each their own, before setting the tray on the table in front of them. 

“Thanks!” Remus declared, the pacifier falling from his mouth. He reached forward and grabbed a handful of goldfish crackers and shoved it in his mouth. Normally he probably would have been scolded by Janus, or egged on by Virgil who would dare him to eat more, but that night all he was met with was giggles from his friends. 

They all settled on the couch as the movie started, though none very eager to initiate closeness, always a little too afraid to be that kind of vulnerable with each other. Using sippy cups and wearing childish clothes, that was something they could handle, but cuddling? That was a bit too much. Even though all three of them may have secretly wanted it. 

True to his word, there was gore in the movie, though even in this headspace none of the sides were fazed by it, quite used to worse coming from their resident gore expert anyways. 

“I wanna pick the next one.” Janus declared, pulling his thumb out of his mouth to do so. (He had once told them that he felt too silly using the pacifier.) No one objected as he stood up and padded to the dvd case, his blanket wrapped around his shoulders tightly. 

Without the distraction of a movie though, Virgil’s thoughts began to wander to their earlier conversation. Thomas was finally listening to them, and he knew he should feel more excited about that. But why did their influence immediately make him so...miserable? Virgil wasn’t too keen on the Duke’s new role...And Janus was making Thomas lie more and more. Virgil was none too thrilled about his own influence over Thomas, making him feel too anxious about doing things he loved...Virgil was so deep in thought that he didn’t realize how hard he was biting his lip. 

Remus did though. 

“Virgil! I can smell your overthinkin’ from here!” He whined, before throwing a teething ring at the other. Virgil fumbled to catch it, before smiling slightly. Remus may not always see big pictures, but he was very good at paying attention to close detail. 

“Sorry, just...Can’t stop thinking about Thomas.” He admitted, knowing he wouldn’t be able to get away with a lie anyways. Janus walked back over to the couch, his movie choice starting on the screen. They were all in varying degrees of headspace, only further pushed out of it by the bringing up of Thomas once more. 

“We’ll figure this out. As long as we keep working together.” Janus said, before fiddling with the hem of his shirt. He stopped short, standing in front of Virgil, before quietly holding his arms towards, offering him a hug, a rarity in this household. Virgil considered it for a second, before standing up and hugging Janus back. 

“Just don’ wanna mess things up.” He admitted miserably, burying his face in Janus’s hair, taking a moment to relish in the closeness, before it was being taken away far too soon. 

“We ain’t gonna mess up! We gonna make Thomas rad!!” Remus declared. He kicked his feet in the air, before going back to laying on the couch, replacing the pacifier once more in his mouth. Virgil tried to allow himself the same feelings of excitement, sitting back down on the couch just as Janus did. He started chewing on the teether instead of his lip, and found the action quite soothing. He sighed, before relaxing into the couch, turning his attention back towards the movie at hand. 

When the movie was over, all of them were in different stages of sleep. Janus was curled up at the corner of the couch, still sucking his thumb as he dozed. Remus was fighting sleep by flipping through tv channels, before deciding to just turn the whole thing off. Virgil was secretly grateful, since he had a hard time sleeping with televisions on. 

“You really think we gonna mess up Thomas?” Came an out of character soft voice from the dark where Remus was. Virgil blinked, having begun to drift off to sleep, before being jerked awake by the question. He took a second to consider the question, before shrugging. 

“I dunno…” He admitted. “Maybe we’re in the sub-sub-... downstairs for a reason.” He whispered. When he was met with nothing but silence, he assumed that Remus had either fallen asleep or was done with the conversation. He closed his eyes to try and sleep again.

“I think we’re important.” Remus spoke up after a few moments, startling Virgil awake once more. “You’re important, and Janny is important and I’m important too. We jus’ dunno how yet.” Virgil blinked, thinking over the answer in his head. He knew that Thomas couldn’t function properly without them, which was one type of importance for sure, but Remus seemed to think they were valuable in other ways. Virgil wanted to believe him. 

Silence settled over them once more, and they two began to drift off to sleep. Faintly, a voice drifted through the subconscious, telling a story of knights and dragons. They allowed this unseen storyteller to let them weave their tale, and ease their minds of their worried thoughts, before lulling off to sleep. 

+++

After ‘Accepting Anxiety’

Virgil awoke with a start, his heart hammering in his chest. Tears were streaming down his face before he could even begin to process the nightmare he had just woken from. He gripped his hair and pulled it tightly to try and bring him back into himself. He was in his bed, he was safe. 

But were his friends safe?

The thought rang in his ears like church bells on a sunday. Despite the fuzziness clouding his brain, he needed to check on his friends. His new friends, the people who had recently accepted him into their famILY dynamic that he had both been longing for and dreading ever since he had gotten close with them. It was nice to finally have people in his life that didn’t make him question if he was the bad guy all the time. 

He threw his legs over the bed and stood. He knew he couldn’t fight off his regression, especially after a nightmare as vivid as that one. A reminder that secretly he would never really be good, he’d always be a dark shadow for Thomas, no matter how many good things he could do as Anxiety and as a protector. He shivered and pushed those thoughts away. He had a job to do...He had to go check on his friends. 

He certainly didn’t want their comfort or anything, absolutely not. 

He padded over towards his door. He took one longing look at the stuffed doggie on his bed...He really wanted to bring her, for protection purposes, but the others might laugh at him. So, with one final nod, he opened his door and headed into the hallway. 

First stop was Patton’s room, which was right next door. He walked over to it carefully, noting that there was no light coming from it, which made sense. It was late at night, everyone should be asleep. He came up to the door and looked around, almost afraid someone might catch him going to Patton’s room to make sure he was safe, and not because Patton was always willing to give hugs when someone was feeling sad or scared. He thought about knocking, but figured it would be better for him to just open the door and peer inside. 

He was surprised when he found the door unlocked, but considering Patton was always offering his room to anyone who needed a safe place or just needed a Dad hug, he probably shouldn’t have been. He peered into the room, letting his night vision kick on just for a moment (He tried not using his subconscious powers, but sometimes they were a useful tool.) It was...empty? That made his heart race again. Where was Patton?

He decided to check Logan’s room next. Maybe they were together? He scurried over to the other side of the hallway, trying to keep his footsteps light so they didn’t wake anyone. He placed his ear to Logan’s door when he went there, straining to listen to see if he could hear breathing or whispers or anything to indicate that someone was in the room, only to be met with silence. Not hesitating this time, he tried opening the door, and found it too unlocked. When he looked in, Logan’s bed was neatly made and there was no sign of anyone in the room. 

Virgil felt tears prick his eyes. Where was everyone? Had they left him? Were they tired of him already? But they had just accepted him! He had one more place to look of course, but he was feeling rather hopeless. He looked over towards Roman’s room, before walking over carefully to it. 

As he got closer, he could already tell that people were in that room. Even from the hallway he could hear the hushed whispers. When he made it to the door, he could hear all three of them in the room, arguing about...They were talking about him? And about leaving him out of something…

His heart fell deep into his stomach as he thought about this. They were all together, hanging out without him. And worst of all...They were debating about why he shouldn’t and should be invited. He felt the tears from earlier begin to slip down his cheeks. He wanted to be included in whatever they were doing, he didn’t want to be purposefully left out. 

“Ro?” Virgil could hear Logan speak up. “Will you sing to us?” 

“It would be an hour.” Roman responded back. Virgil couldn’t help himself as he sat down on the floor. He tried not to let his tears get too loud, but it hurt. He listened to Roman sing, his voice soft and airy. It made him feel sleepy, and he wanted to stay and listen to him forever. But he couldn’t understand why he was being left out. Maybe Big him would understand, but Little him just felt hurt and betrayed...He hated this. He wiped at his eyes, before leaning his head against the doorframe. He stayed like that until Roman stopped singing and supposedly fell asleep. Virgil stayed for just a little longer after that, pretending that he was at their sleepover with them, that they had asked him to hang out. It reminded him of times long ago...And he hated that. 

His heart hardened the moment that thought crossed his mind. He shouldn’t feel so sad about being left out. He shouldn’t have come looking for someone to hold and hug him the moment he regressed. He wiped the last of his tears off his face and stood up. He wouldn’t allow himself to feel this hurt, not again. He decided then and there he wouldn’t regress anymore. If it would keep him from heartaches like this...from feeling so bad about being left out...Whatever it took. 

He walked back towards his bed, no longer caring about why he’d been left out. 

+++

After ‘Putting Others First - Selfishness v. Selflessness Redux’

“Enough!” Virgil’s dark voice entered through the room, chilling the air around them. He was tired of hearing them argue and berate each other so vehemently. When everyone turned to look at him, he could see the strain in their eyes, especially Logan, who was doing a piss poor job at hiding how hurt he was. He looked over everyone, narrowing his eyes and daring anyone to keep arguing. Patton immediately looked ashamed, Roman glared back at him, but clearly didn’t have much fight in him left, feeling the anger begin to dissipate as he was forced into silence. Logan stood straighter, adjusting his tie.

Once Virgil sensed that they were gonna be quiet for a second, he finally spoke up. “How about instead of everyone fighting, we all just leave each other the fuck alone. Everyone’s pissed at everyone. We’re not going to resolve anything tonight.” His voice was stern and angry, but it seemed to get the point across. Plus it let the others know that he was frustrated too. He had been completely left out of the conversation, though probably for the better, because if he had had to see Deceit’s snake face he might have lost it.

“I don’t need this.” Roman said, before stomping out of the room. Virgil stepped out of his way just to avoid his fiery path. He turned his attention to Patton and Logan, the former of which was hugging himself tightly. 

“If you need me…” He trailed off for a second, and Virgil watched him reconsider the offer that was on the tip of his tongue. He quietly whispered “Please don’t…”, confirming Virgil’s suspicions, before he too followed in Roman’s path and headed towards his room, leaving Logan and Virgil. 

Logan and Virgil shared a look, almost reading each other's minds. They had been cast to the side, and for what? Virgil had been kept out of the loop about what was going on just because Deceit was involved. It hurt like hell, and it brought out an ache in his chest that he thought he had squashed long ago. 

Virgil broke the tension, sighing. “We’ll get through this, right L?” He asked, his eyeshadow dark and his hands twisted into his hoodie, holding on for dear life. This was the largest fight the group had ever had, but they always managed to pop back up, make things right. He looked to Logan, hoping, perhaps unfairly, that he would have the answers. 

“I don’t know.” Logan said, and his face was blank, absent of anything that Virgil had hoped to find. There was no hint of optimism or flash of hope. He wanted to try and fix that, he hated seeing Logan-- no he hated seeing everyone like this. Logan looked broken, Roman looked bruised. Even Patton couldn’t even find it in himself to pretend things were going to be okay. Despite the ache in his chest that begged to be small, he knew he would do whatever it took to make his friends feel okay. Even if he had to tackle it one side at a time. 

When Logan made a step to head upstairs and isolate himself as well, Virgil stopped him. Stepping in his way, though he didn’t meet the other’s eyes.

“If you need anything, well, you know where my door is at.” Virgil offered, and he wished he had stepped in front of the others as they left and made that same offer, but one step at a time, he supposed. 

“You heard Roman, I can’t feel. I don’t need anything.” Logan said, his eyes unwavering, before he pushed passed Virgil and started up the stairs. Virgil spun around and watched him go, wondering if he was only imagining the way the other’s shoulders slumped and he seemed to go faster and faster, as if to get away from Virgil as quickly as possible. The anxious side sighed, once more being left alone. 

He didn’t know how to help his friends, didn’t know exactly what they needed. And it wasn’t helping that there was a small part of him that wished someone had stayed, wished someone had asked him if he was okay, if he needed anyone. But that was selfish, he needed to focus on being there for them. 

He made his own way up the stairs after a few moments, heading towards his room. He kept his door open slightly, just in case anyone decided they needed someone to talk to, or if perhaps they wanted to come check on him, though he tried to convince himself that that wasn’t the case. He sat on his bed and put his headphones on, blasting music that would surely ruin his eardrums if he wasn’t the figment of someone’s anxiety. 

Hours passed without much incident. Though Virgil had spent plenty of time brooding about how miserable today had been, he’d significantly calmed down. He knew today had been hard, but he was sure that things would be okay, it would just take time and a lot of work on everyone’s parts. He was about to turn in for the night, much earlier than usually but it had been a long day, when movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. 

Someone was in the hallway. Not at his door, but at Roman’s, which was across the hall. Virgil stood up, deciding that he would confront who it was, gently, of course. 

He quietly snuck into the hallway, not wanting to spook whoever it was at Roman’s door. He could tell that it was Logan, and his arm looked full, though he couldn’t tell what the other ws carrying except for a blanket, which must have been trailing behind him as he walked. He watched as Logan pressed his ear to the door, listening in on Roman. Virgil wasn’t sure why he was doing that, or why he was carrying a blanket around, or why he was even awake, but he still kept quiet. 

Logan brought his free hand up to his mouth, before turning around. Immediately Virgil knew he was about to scare the other, which was confirmed when Logan practically jumped out of his skin and bit down on the thumb in his mouth...Wait. Was Logan sucking his thumb?

Virgil had a whole three seconds to process what he was seeing. Logan was sucking his thumb (Well, he was more biting it now, it seemed), and he was holding a blanket, a stuffed bear, and a book very tightly to his chest. Once Virgil was able to put two and two together, he began to assume that Logan must be regressed. Knowing this, he knew he had to be very careful with his reactions, since Logan would probably be devastated if he reacted poorly. So he offered a small smile and kind eyes, trying to wordlessly let the other know that he wasn’t disgusted or freaked out.

“Trouble sleeping?” Virgil asked, the first thing coming to mind. He watched as Logan tentatively nodded. If Logan was regressed, then he could safely bet that he’d been probably going to Roman seeking comfort. Well, Virgil could provide that comfort too, he would do anything for his friends. He gestured for Logan to follow him, before heading off towards the regressor’s room. He knew better than to go to his own room, considering the effects it had on his fellow sides. 

Once he was in Logan’s room, he looked around a bit, admiring the state of the other’s living space. It was neat and clean, and obviously well taken care of. He looked back to see if Logan was still with him, and noticed the other standing in the doorway, as if wary about entering his own room. Virgil offered a small smile, hoping to try and ease the fears of the other. His eyes wandered back down to what Logan had been holding earlier.

“Is that your book?” Virgil asked, pointing at the book still tightly gripped to his chest along with his Sherlock bear. Logan gave a small nod, walking a bit further into the room. Virgil could sense his hesitance, but could also tell that the walls were coming down.

“Would you like me to read it to you?” He asked, watching Logan for an unfavorable reaction. He wasn’t sure how well Logan would take to having his little side being catered to by someone who clearly wasn’t supposed to know about it. However, to Virgil’s surprise, Logan’s face seemed to wash over with relief as he nodded again, hurrying over to the bed and climbing in. Virgil chuckled, relieved to see that he took the offer well, and climbed into bed with the regressor, taking the book from him gently.

“You can lay on me if you want, whatever you need to do to get comfortable.” Virgil said, leaning against the backboard of the bed. He thought back to when he used to regress, and how sometimes he wished someone would hug him or allow him the space to lay on them, so he decided to offer that to Logan, even if he was usually the one who rallied against physical touch. And once again to his shock (Though he wasn’t sure why he would be surprised anymore, it seemed that people were often prone to bouts of contradictions when they were little), Logan laid his head against Virgil’s shoulder to look at the pictures, his blanket now wrapped around his shoulders and thumb tucked away in his cheek. 

Virgil began to read the story, an odd familiarity overtaking overcoming his as he read. He tried not to think about that too much though as he told the story of knights and a dragon, reading it softly and slowly, hoping to ease Logan back to sleep. However, as he read, he noticed the other’s breathing change, and when Virgil looked down, taking a pause from reading, he could see Logan silently crying, his eyes still fixated on the book but his mind clearly somewhere else. 

Carefully, he set the book in his lap and wrapped his arms around Logan in a hug, choosing his next words deliberately, wanting to let the side that felt he couldn't have emotions know that he could. 

“It’s okay, Lo, you can cry, it’s okay.” Virgil whispered, and that’s exactly what Logan did. He wept into Virgil, and the anxious side rocked and soothed his friend, letting him whimper and cry into his hoodie as he gently rubbed his back. The crying lasted for a while, and Virgil continued to whisper that it was okay, that he was allowed to cry. Eventually, he could tell that Logan was beginning to drift off to sleep by his breathing, noting that he wasn’t as worked up. Virgil was about to help him lay down in the bed properly, when he was startled by an eerily familiar melody drifting in from the door. Logan must have heard it too. The two sides looked up, only then realizing that neither of them had shut the door, and they were met with a teary-eyed Patton holding his music box in one hand, and his Froggy in the other.

Patton stepped further into the room, and Virgil could immediately tell that Patton was regressed too. He wondered if everyone in the mindscape had regression tendencies, except him of course. Not anymore, anyways. “Can I please lay with you?” Patton whispered quietly, just barely loud enough to be heard over his music. Virgil peered down at Logan, waiting to see if he was okay with it. The little gave a slight nod, and Virgil felt incredibly proud of him for it. 

“Come on over, kid.” Virgil said, scooting over just a bit to make room for Patton on the other side of him. Patton walked over, placing the music box on the bedside table, before climbing in next to Virgil, hiding his face in the other’s side.

“I’m sorry.” Patton cried, and Virgil understood why he was saying it. He wanted to make things better, he didn’t want to feel like everyone was mad at each other and couldn’t be there for one another. But it didn’t have to be like that, at least not tonight. So, he readjusted his hug with Logan so that he could wrap an arm around Patton as well, running his hands through their hair. 

“Let’s try and not think about earlier, okay? We can do that in the morning.” Virgil said, and Patton nodded his response, content to just allow himself to be held by the other. Virgil watched as the two little’s in his arms looked at each other, a silent conversation happening between him, before Patton reached out and Logan took his hand. Virgil smiled slightly, before allowing the familiar melody that was still playing from Patton’s music box to lull him towards sleep. 

Until there was another knock on the door. 

“Lo? Can we-” But Roman cut himself off, and Virgil could see the fear and hesitancy in his eyes when he noticed his presence in the room. He was dressed in his Beauty and the Beast onesie and had a lion stuffie tucked under his arm. Virgil tried to smile, though he was unsure if it could be seen in the low light. Roman shuffled in place, and the anxious side could feel his friend’s anxiety about being caught as also a regressor. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean-” But Roman was cut off by Virgil, who continued to only look at him kindly.

“Wanna join the club?” He asked, motioning his head towards the other side of Logan where there was just enough room for one more body. He could tell that Roman was considering the offer, probably worried that Virgil would judge him or make fun of him still, but all he could do was smile gently and try and show that he would never judge his friends, especially over something that brought them such ease. 

Virgil let out a small relieved sigh when Roman shuffled his way over to the bed and climbed in next to Logan, cuddling into him close.

“I’m sorry-” Roman started, but was once again cut off by Virgil, since he could sense that Roman also wanted to try and fix things immediately. But it was too important of a conversation to try and have like this, and it would take a lot of talking that the little’s surly wouldn’t be able to have tonight, if he could assume anything about their regression. 

“This is a no-talking-about-earlier zone, Little Prince. We can talk about it tomorrow.” Virgil ruffled the other’s hair at the end of his sentence, and watched in amusement when Roman huffed at the action, but eventually settled back into the bed. Virgil watched as his friends drifted off to sleep, warmed by the presence of each other. 

He knew that the next few days would be difficult for them, for him too. But they would get through it, together.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It wasn't long before all the littles were sound asleep, leaving him to watch over them. He sighed, a soft smile falling on his lips...he let out a quiet yawn and closed his eyes, happy that he had finally been allowed to be a part of this.
> 
> And not even a second later, an ominous chuckle filled the room, throwing Virgil right back into consciousness. 
> 
> +++
> 
> Warnings: There's a confrontation between Virgil and Janus that may make people uncomfortable. If more are needed please let me know <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this chapter is short, sorry <3 But I think it sets up the plot of this story nicely. 
> 
> Also, the very first paragraph is the last paragraph of 'Virgil's First Encounter with Little Logan', which should be read first before delving into this chapter, otherwise you won't know what's going on. 
> 
> Anyways, hopefully it doesn't take me over a month to publish the (hopefully) last chapter of this! I am trying to finish up my current wips before I start new stories, but I am also just as likely to start a new story on a whim, so we shall see. 
> 
> IF you like this story and chapter, comments and kudos are always appreciated <3

Once they were all laying down, snuggled safely together, Virgil began to retell, again, the story of the day's events, unable to help the warmth that spread throughout his chest and seemed to spill into the whole room. It wasn't long before all the littles were sound asleep, leaving him to watch over them. He sighed, a soft smile falling on his lips. He looked at the giraffe that had ended up sitting next to him throughout the story. He reached for it and buried his face into it, letting himself feel just a bit comforted by it's plush softness. When he pulled away, he let out a quiet yawn and closed his eyes, happy that he had finally been allowed to be a part of this.

And not even a second later, an ominous chuckle filled the room, throwing Virgil right back into consciousness. 

“Lying to your friends AND yourself, Virgil? I’d like to say it’s a great new look for you, but we both know that’s par for the course.” Janus said, standing in the open door, leaning against the frame with a smirk on his face. Virgil quietly groaned, but was careful not to disturb Patton. The anxious side stared at the intruder and mouthed ‘Go Away!’, hoping with little conviction that that would be enough to get the intruder to leave. Instead, Janus grinned. 

“No, I’d rather stay here and annoy you.” Janus taunted, though he kept his voice at a whisper, which Virgil was at least a tiny bit grateful for, though he wasn’t about to give Janus any benefit of the doubt. In fact, he could guess this wasn’t going to end with Janus leaving on his own accord. Virgil sighed, before allowing himself to sink into the bed, hoping the movement wouldn’t rustle Patton. When he rose back up, he was standing right in front of Janus, his eyes crossed and his eyes scornful. 

“What are you doing here, Deceit?” Virgil asked. The villain's smirk seemed to grow, but Virgil was mostly immune to Janus’s scare tactics. He was pretty good about keeping Janus from getting under his skin. 

“Would you believe me if I told you I had come to check on you?” Janus asked, and chuckled when he got a flat ‘no’ from Virgil. 

“Well, you’d be surprised then. I heard your lie all the way from down in the subconscious,” Janus explained, looking as nonchalant as ever. Virgil quirked an eyebrow, wondering what lie the other was referring to. When Janus seemed to realize Virgil wasn’t following, he was more than willing to supply. 

"No no, it's okay Kid. I don't regress, but I really appreciate the sentiment." Janus said, mimicking Virgil’s voice, and finally catching Virgil up to what Janus was going on about. 

“At first I assumed you were just lying as a way to protect yourself,” Janus went on to explain, stepping past Virgil and into the room, only being able to do so because Virgil seemed paralyzed by his own concern. “I was a bit surprised by you calling another side kid, but you all have that family dynamic thing that you do.” Janus waved his hand. “But it seems you have no real reason to hide your regression from them.” He said, gesturing towards Virgil’s friends still sleeping in the bed. Upon being reminded of the state of his friends, and the fact that they were all in clear view of Janus, Virgil managed to shake himself from his shocked stupor. 

“Don’t you dare try and--” Virgil didn’t even get a chance to finish his low toned threat as Janus immediately threw his hands up in a placating manner. 

“I have no intentions of, what? Exposing them? That’d be rather hypocritical of me, wouldn’t it?” Janus asked, walking back towards Virgil and back into the doorway. The anxious side huffed, feeling put out that his threat was pretty useless when there wasn’t really anyone to reveal their secrets to. The only people he really could go blabbing to would be Remus or Thomas. He’d probably tell Remus, but since they all age regressed, there wasn’t really much leverage to be had. And if Janus revealed the care side’s regression to Thomas, Virgil would reveal their’s.

“Then why are you here?” Virgil asked, the bite still in his tone, though there was a hint of concern to it as well. If he wasn’t here to try and hurt them, why would he have bothered coming up at all?

“I already told you, I came to check on you. If you weren’t lying to protect your secret, then I would hate to know why you would lie about regressing.” Janus said. Virgil couldn’t understand why Janus was so concerned with his own regression. He hadn’t been concerned about Virgil’s state of affairs before, and frankly, he didn’t like that Janus was prying. 

“It’s really none of your business, Deceit.” Virgil retorted, and watched with satisfaction as the other flinched at his formal name. But then Janus looked back at him with worried eyes, eyes that he hadn’t been on the other end of in a long long time. 

“You’re trying to convince yourself that you don’t regress anymore.” Janus said, stating what apparently was obvious to him, though Virgil hated that the other seemed to just know this. 

“I suppose it isn’t my business.” Janus suddenly said, standing up a bit straighter. “But...I wanted to remind you that you shouldn’t feel like you can’t regress...or that anyone would be upset if you did. If you ever wanted to come home--” 

“I don’t,” Virgil snarked quickly, making sure that idea was killed as quickly as it had come. Janus once more held his hands up, not attempting to argue the matter further. 

“--there was going to be an or,” Janus said. “Or, you could tell your friends. I doubt they would judge you,” Virgil wasn’t sure why Janus had come up here, all out of his way, to come bother Virgil about this. It wasn’t like the other cared about him...right? He huffed, he really wasn’t in the mood to try and sort through those thoughts. 

“Just go. You aren’t going to convince me to change my mind.” Virgil said, and watched with just a bit of satisfaction when Janus’s shoulders slumped. But Janus wasn’t looking at him, he was staring at the bed, his eyes slightly narrowed. 

“Hm, maybe not me. But perhaps they will.” He said, before his face returned to that ever annoying smirk. Virgil watched as Janus gave a careful bow, before sinking back down into the subconscious. He wasn’t sure what Janus had meant by that last line, and he wasn’t sure why it felt so ominous. Still, he was just glad the villain was gone. He carefully shut the door, before turning around to face the bed. 

Everyone still seemed to be peacefully sleeping, which Virgil was grateful for. He considered laying back down with them, lord knows he could use a nap after that...conflicting run in with Janus. But instead, he decided to leave, though he planned to stay in the common area in case any of them were still regressed when they woke up and wanted to continue to be watched. So, he quietly sunk out. 

And when he was gone, Patton slowly sat up, trying to comprehend everything he had heard.


End file.
